Chuck

ABSTRACT

A take-up spindle carries axially spaced chucks each having a body carrying a plurality of chuck members for gripping the inner face of a hollow take-up core. Each chuck has a plurality of concentric springs which urge an actuator into a gripping position to cam the chuck members into gripping engagement with the core. Release mechanism concurrently urges the actuators of all the chucks to a released position whereupon the chuck members of each chuck are urged to a retracted position by an annular spring received in notches in generally radial faces of the respective chuck members. The chuck members are small and light weight to effectively eliminate resultant centrifugal force deforming the core, and are mounted to maintain a normal gripping force on the core although the core may tend to move axially of the spindle and chucks.

United States Patent Allam CHUCK [72] Inventor: James N. Allam,Woonsocket, R1.

[73] Assignee: Leesona Corporation, Warwick, RI. [22] Filed: Jan. 29,1971 [21 Appl. N6; 111,036

[52 Us. c1. ..279/2, 82/44, 242/73 51 Int. Cl. ..B23b 31/42 [58] FieldOf Search ..242/72, 72.1, 73-, 279/2; 82/44 [56] References Cited UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 3,526,369 9/1970 Beckwith, Jr. ..279/2 x 3,462,162 8/1969Stoeffler ..279/2 3,383,723 5/1968 Connelly ..279/2 x 2,698,551 1/1955Olsen ..279/2 x 3,086,783 4/1963 K6150 ..279/2 3,212,374 l0/l965 Anthony..279/2 x Oct. 24, 1972 Primary Examiner-Andrew R. J uhasz AssistantExaminer-James F. Coan Attorney-Albert P. Davis and Burnett W. Norton[57] ABSTRACT A take-up spindle carries axially spaced chucks eachhaving a body carrying a plurality of chuck members for gripping theinner face of a hollow take-up core. Each chuck has a plurality ofconcentric springs which urge an actuator into a gripping position tocam the chuck members into gripping engagement with the core. Releasemechanism concurrently urges the actuators of all the chucks to areleased position whereupon the chuck members of each chuck are urged toa retracted position by an annular spring received in notches ingenerally radial faces of the respective chuck members. The chuckmembers are small and light weight to effectively eliminate resultantcentrifugal force defonning the core, and are mounted to maintain anormal gripping force on the core although the core may tend to moveaxially of the spindle and chucks.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CHUCK This invention relates to winding and,more particularly, to a chuck for releasably retaining a hollow core. I

As winding or take-up speeds are increased, various problems are likelyto develop in core holding chucks. One of these problems is the effectof centrifugal force of the chuck members causing a substantial increasein the gripping force applied by the chuck members to the core. Suchincrease in the gripping force may cause undesirable deformation of thecore. Another difficulty is that axial movement of the gripped core mayresult in varying the gripping force applied by the chuck members to thecore because of a camming inter-action between the chuck members andtheir actuator.

The invention is, in brief, directed to a winder or take-up chuck havinga body rotatable about an axis and a plurality of chuck members mountedon the body for movement into and out of gripping engagement with acore. An axially movable actuator is yieldably urged to cam the chuckmembers into gripping engagement with the core and to maintain the chuckmembers each exerting substantially equal gripping forces on the core.The chuck members are held against axial movement relative to the bodyso that any tendency of the core to move axially does not effect thegripping force of the chuck members. When the actuator is in itsreleased position the chuck members are yieldably urged to a corereleasing position by an annular resilient member received in notchesopening, within the body, through radial faces of the chuck members.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a new and improvedwinding apparatus.

Another object is provision of a new and improved core receiving chuckincluding a body rotatable about an axis and carrying a plurality ofchuck members for releasably gripping the core, with an axially movableactuator and cooperating cam means on the chuck members and the actuatorfor moving the chuck members betweena released position and a coregripping position and releasably retaining the chuck members in theirgripping position responsive to movement of the actuator from a releasedposition to a grippingposition, the actuator and chuck members beingyieldably maintained in the gripping position and the chuck membersbeing yieldably urgedtoward their released position, and the chuckmembers being effectively axially stationary relative to the body sothat the chuck members exert their normal gripping force on the corealthough the core may tend to move axially of the body. Related objectsinclude: each of the chuck members being of sufl'iciently light weightto effectively eliminate centrifugal force materially deforming thecore; a plurality of generally axially extending compression springspositioned so that the actuator remains axially aligned and the chuckmembers in their gripping position exert substantially equal forces onthe core; and an annular tension spring received in notches in radiallyextending surfaces of the chuck members for urging the chuck memberstoward their released position.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. I is a fragmentary, schematic elevational view of a take-up spindleincluding a preferred embodiment of chucks gripping a core;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of one of the chucks takengenerally along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a broken sectional view taken generally along the line 3-3 inFIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 3, but with the chuckreleased from gripping engagement with the core, and the core removed.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a spindle shaft 10 is mounted in anysuitable manner on a base 12 of a winder 14, such as a take-up machine,for rotation about a longitudinal axis. A pair of axially spaced chucks16, and therebetween a core guide 18, are fixedly mounted on the spindleshaft 10 by set bolts 20. Each chuck 16 has a body 22 which threadedlyreceives the set bolt 20.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, in order to facilitateinsertion of a hollow core 24 onto a chuck 16, an outer face 26 of amain portion 28 of the chuck body 22 is frusto conical and joins arearward annular portion 30. This annular portion 30 has a plurality ofequally circumferentially spaced and radially extending slots 32 (asillustrated 12), each slot 32 receiving one of a plurality ofsubstantially identical chuck members 34 of substantially the same axiallength as the slots 32. The slots 32 are of such an axial dimension thatthe chuck members 34 are slidable radial therein and are held againstaxial movement relative to the spindle shaft 10, thus eliminating anytendency for the chuck members to move axially should the core 24 tendto move axially on the chuck members. The slots 32 open through an innercylindrical face 36 and an outer cylindrical face 38 of the annularportion 30, and also through an annular radially disposed end face 40 ofthe main portion 28 of the body. An annular plate 42 (FIGS. 1-3) isreceived on the spindle shaft 10 and is seated on the annular face 40,and secured by bolts 44 to the main part 28 of the body 22, to retainthe chuck members 34 against axial movement in the slots 32.

The chuck members 34 are made as light in weight as possibleso thatcentrifugal force does not cause the chuck members to deform the core 24as the rotational speed of the spindle is increased. To this end, eachchuck member is preferably aluminum or a strong, light plastic, such asglass filled ZYTEL, and is thin and extends but a small portion of thecore engaging length of the spindle (the distance between the chuckmembers of the two chucks.) Also, the radial length of each chuck member34 is but a small portion of the total radial length from the axis ofthe spindle shaft 10 to the core 24.

With reference to FIGS. 2-4, for yieldably urging the chuck members 34inwardly and against an actuator 46, a resilient member, here in theform of an annular tension spring 48, is received in an annular channel50 in the end face 40 of the body, and in notches 52, one in each of thechuck members 34. These notches each open through a radial surface 54 ofthe respective chuck member and are within the body 22 and face theinner face of the plate 42 which also retains the spring 48 in place.Thus, the spring 48 is securely held in place and is protected fromdamage and lint.

The actuator 46 is in the form of a generally annular member snugglyslidably received on the spindle shaft 10 and has a generallyfrusto-conical cam surface 56.

This surface 56 engages and cooperates with beveled cam surfaces 58(FIGS. 3 and 4) on the chuck members 34 for urging the 'chuck membersoutwardly, against the resilient force of the annular spring 48, from aretracted, released position (FIG. 4), to an extended, gripping position(FIGS. 1-3) in engagement with an inner surface of the core 24, when theactuator 46 is moved from a released position (FIG. 4) to a grippingposition (FIGS. 2 and 3).

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of equal strengthcompression springs 60 yieldably and resiliently urge the actuator 46 toits gripping position. These springs each have ends seated in sockets 62in the actuator and opposite ends seated in sockets 64 in the mainportion 28, and are equally radially and circumferentially spaced aboutthe axis of the spindle shaft 10, and extend generally axially of theshaft. Thus, the chuck members and the actuator are always urged intoengagement with each other, and the actuator does not cant relative tothe spindle axis or bind, so that the chuck members each engage the corewith equal gripping force.

In order to move the actuator 46 from its gripping position (FIGS. 2 and3) to its released position (FIG. 4), a plurality of axially disposedrods 66 extend through the compression springs 60 and actuator bores 68and body bores 70. These rods carry fixed abutment rings 72 seated ingrooves in the rods 66 and disposed in sockets 74 in a face of theactuator opposite the compression spring receiving sockets 62. Withreference to FIG. 1, inner ends of the rods 66 abut the annular face 76of a sleeve 78 which is telescoped on the spindle shaft and is suitablyheld in position for limited telescopic movement axially of the shaft10. A lever 80 is pivoted, by a pin 81, to the base 12 of the winder andcarries a yoke member 82 having opposed legs for engaging a flange 84 onthe sleeve 78 so that upon pivotal movement of the lever 80 in aclockwise direction the rods 66 are urged in an outward direction (tothe left, FIG. 1) so that the rings 72 move the actuator 46 axially tothe left along the spindle shaft 10 and into its released position.

While this invention has been described with reference to a particularembodiment in a particular environment, various changes may be apparentto one skilled in the art and the invention is therefore not to belimited to such embodiment or environment except as set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A core receiving chuck, comprising a body having an axis of rotation,a plurality of chuck members disposed about said axis for releasablygripping the core, an actuator mounted for movement generally axially ofsaid body between gripping and released positions, cooperating cam meanson said chuck members and said actuator for moving said chuck membersbetween a released position and a core gripping position and releasablyretaining said chuck members in their gripping position responsive tomovement of said actuator from its released position to its grippingposition, operating means including a plurality of resilient meansspaced about said axis and seated against said body and said actuatorfor urging and normally yieldably maintaining said actuator in itsgripping position and effectively preventing said actuator from cantingrelative to sai axis so that the actuator urges said chuck members intogripping engagement with the core with substantially equal forces andmaintains said chuck members exerting a normal gripping force on thecore, means for releasably retaining said actuator in its releasedposition, and means mounting said chuck members on said body formovement transversely of said axis between said gripping and releasedpositions and when in their gripping position maintaining said chuckmembers in an effectively fixed axial position relative to said body formaintaining said chuck members exerting said normal gripping force onthe core although the core may tend to move axially.

2. A chuck as set forth in claim 1 in which said operating meansincludes means yieldably urging said chuck members toward their releasedposition.

3. A chuck as set forth in claim 2 in which each of said chuck membershas a generally radially extending surface and a notch opening throughsaid surface and within said body, and said yieldable urging meansincludes an annular member received in the notches.

4. A chuck as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said chuck membersextends axially only a small portion of the total overall axial coreengaging length of the chuck and each extends radially only a smallportion of the overall radius from said axis to the core in the grippingposition, so that each chuck member is of sufficiently light weight foreffectively eliminating centrifugal force materially deforming the coreupon rotation of the body.

5. A chuck as set forth in claim 1 in which said plurality of resilientmeans are individually disposed and seated within sockets in saidactuator and the main portion of said body.

6. A chuck as set forth in claim 1 in which said body has a generallyannular portion, the mounting means includes means defining a pluralityof slots, one receiving each of said chuck members, for radial movementtherein and for holding the chuck members against axial movement, saidslots being in said annular portion and each extending generallyradially of said axis and opening through inner and outer faces of saidannular portion, said chuck members each having a generally radiallyextending surface and a notch opening through said surface within saidbody, said resilient means includes at least three generally axiallyextending, substantially equal strength compression springs generallyconcentric with and substantially equally radially and circumferentiallyspaced about said axis, and a resilient annular tension spring receivedin said notches for urging said chuck members toward their releasedposition.

7. A chuck as set forth in claim 6 in which said chuck members are alight weight material and extend axially only a small portion of thetotal overall axial core engaging length of the chuck and each extendradially only a small-portion of the overall radius from said axis tothe core in their gripping position, so that each chuck member is ofsufiiciently light weight for effectively eliminating centrifugal forcematerially deforming the core upon rotation of the body.

1. A core receiving chuck, comprising a body having an axis of rotation,a plurality of chuck members disposed about said axis for releasablygripping the core, an actuator mounted for movement generally axially ofsaid body between gripping and released positions, cooperating cam meanson said chuck members and said actuator for moving said chuck membersbetween a released position and a core gripping position and releasablyretaining said chuck members in their gripping position responsive tomovement of said actuator from its released position to its grippingposition, operating means including a plurality of resilient meansspaced about said axis and seated against said body and said actuatorfor urging and normally yieldably maintaining said actuator in itsgripping position and effectively preventing said actuator from cantingrelative to said axis so that the actuator urges said chuck members intogripping engagement with the core with substantially equal forces andmaintains said chuck members exerting a normal gripping force on thecore, means for releasably retaining said actuator in its releasedposition, and means mounting said chuck members on said body formovement transversely of said axis between said gripping and releasedpositions and when in their gripping position maintaining said chuckmEmbers in an effectively fixed axial position relative to said body formaintaining said chuck members exerting said normal gripping force onthe core although the core may tend to move axially.
 2. A chuck as setforth in claim 1 in which said operating means includes means yieldablyurging said chuck members toward their released position.
 3. A chuck asset forth in claim 2 in which each of said chuck members has a generallyradially extending surface and a notch opening through said surface andwithin said body, and said yieldable urging means includes an annularmember received in the notches.
 4. A chuck as set forth in claim 1 inwhich each of said chuck members extends axially only a small portion ofthe total overall axial core engaging length of the chuck and eachextends radially only a small portion of the overall radius from saidaxis to the core in the gripping position, so that each chuck member isof sufficiently light weight for effectively eliminating centrifugalforce materially deforming the core upon rotation of the body.
 5. Achuck as set forth in claim 1 in which said plurality of resilient meansare individually disposed and seated within sockets in said actuator andthe main portion of said body.
 6. A chuck as set forth in claim 1 inwhich said body has a generally annular portion, the mounting meansincludes means defining a plurality of slots, one receiving each of saidchuck members, for radial movement therein and for holding the chuckmembers against axial movement, said slots being in said annular portionand each extending generally radially of said axis and opening throughinner and outer faces of said annular portion, said chuck members eachhaving a generally radially extending surface and a notch openingthrough said surface within said body, said resilient means includes atleast three generally axially extending, substantially equal strengthcompression springs generally concentric with and substantially equallyradially and circumferentially spaced about said axis, and a resilientannular tension spring received in said notches for urging said chuckmembers toward their released position.
 7. A chuck as set forth in claim6 in which said chuck members are a light weight material and extendaxially only a small portion of the total overall axial core engaginglength of the chuck and each extend radially only a small portion of theoverall radius from said axis to the core in their gripping position, sothat each chuck member is of sufficiently light weight for effectivelyeliminating centrifugal force materially deforming the core uponrotation of the body.